November 23, 2025

CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY/OT 34 [C] (2 Sm 5:1-3; Col 1:12-20; Lk 23:35-43)

The thirty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ends the Church’s liturgical year,

so the readings describe the enthronement of the victorious Christ as King

in Heaven in Glory. This year, marks the one-hundredth anniversary of

Pope Pius XI’s 1925 institution of today’s Feast of Christ the King

The Biblical basis of the feast

 New Testament texts: 1) In the Annunciation, recorded in Lk 13:2-33, we

read: “The Lord God will make him a King, as his ancestor David was, and

He will be the King of the descendants of Jacob forever and His Kingdom

will never end.” In fact, the Kingdom of God is the center of Jesus’ teaching

and the phrase “Kingdom of God” occurs in the Gospels 122 times, of

which 90 instances are uses by Jesus.

2) The Magi from the Far East came to Jerusalem and asked the question:

(Mt. 2:2) “Where is the baby born to be the King of the Jews? We saw his

star… and we have come to worship him.”

3) During the royal reception given to Jesus on Palm Sunday, the Jews

shouted: (Lk 19:38) “God bless the King, who comes in the name of the

Lord.”

4) During the trial of Jesus described in today’s Gospel, Pilate asked the

question: “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied: “You say that I am

a king. I was born and came into this world for this one purpose, to bear

witness to the Truth.” (Jn 18:37):

5) Today’s Gospel tells us that the board hung over Jesus’ head on the

cross read: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,” (Lk 23:38; see also,

Mt 27:37; Mk 15:26; Jn 19:19-20), and that, to the repentant thief on the

cross who made the request: “Jesus, remember me when you come into

your Kingdom,” Jesus promised Paradise with him that very day. (Lk 23:39-

43).

6) Before his Ascension into Heaven, Jesus declared, “I have been given

all authority in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18). 7) Finally, in Mt 25:31-46,

we read that The Son of man will come in glory to judge us on the Day of

the Last Judgment

Francis of Assisi was wealthy, high-born and high-spirited, but he was not

happy. He felt that life was incomplete. Then one day he was riding, and he

met a leper, loathsome and repulsive in the ugliness of his disease.

Something moved Francis to dismount and fling his arms around this

wretched sufferer; and, lo, in his arms the face of the leper changed to the

face of the Christ.

Life Messages: 1) We need to accept Christ the King as our Lord, King

and Savior and surrender our lives to him. We surrender our lives to

Jesus every day when we give priority to his teaching in our daily choices,

especially in moral decisions. We should not exclude Christ our King from

any area of our personal or family lives. In other words, Christ must be in

full charge of our lives, and we must give him sovereign power over our

bodies, our thoughts, our heart, and our free will.

2) We need to be serving disciples of a Servant King. Jesus declared

that he came not to be served but to serve and showed us the spirit of

service by washing of the feet of his disciples. We become Jesus’ followers

when we recognize his presence in everyone, especially the poor, the sick,

the outcast, and the marginalized in the society and render humble and

loving service to Jesus in each of them.

 3) We need to accept Jesus Christ as the King of love. Jesus came to

proclaim to all of us the Good News of God’s love and salvation, gave us

his new commandment of love: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn

15:12), and demonstrated that love by dying for us sinners. We accept

Jesus as our King of love when we love others as Jesus loved.

November 16, 2025

OT 33 [C] Mal 3:19-20a; II Thes 3:7-12; Lk 21:5-19

As the Church year comes to an end, the Sunday readings reflect on the final days of

the world, our own death and the Final Judgment. Today’s theme is “The Day of the

Lord” or the “Second Coming” of Jesus in glory as Judge at the end of the world

The story is told of a woman who left instructions for her children that when she died,

they should place on her grave a parking meter that read: “Time expired.”

Today’s Gospel passage underlines the truth that the date of the end of the world is

uncertain. Signs and portents will precede the end, and the Christians will be called

upon to testify before kings and governors. The Good News is that those who persevere

in faithfulness to the Lord will save their souls and enter God’s eternal kingdom.

Christ’s Second Coming is something to celebrate because Jesus is going to present all

creation to his Heavenly Father. That is why we say at Mass, “We proclaim Your death,

O Lord, and profess Your Resurrection, until You come again.” 

Life messages: 1) We must be prepared daily for our death and private

judgment. We make this preparation by trying to do God’s will every day, leading holy

lives of selfless love, humble service, mercy, compassion, and unconditional

forgiveness. In order to do this, we must recharge our spiritual batteries every day by

personal prayer, that is, by talking to God, and by listening to Him through reading the

Bible. Daily examination of our conscience at bedtime and asking God’s pardon and

forgiveness for the sins of the day will also prepare us to face God any time to give an

account of our lives.

2) We need to attain permanence in a passing world by leading exemplary

lives. We must remember that our homes, our Churches and even our own lives are

temporary. God judges our greatness is judged, not on our worldly achievements, but

on our fidelity to the Faith and our practice of that Faith in loving humble service of

others. How our faithfulness is expressed each day is the most important thing. We are

to persevere in our Faith in spite of worldly temptations, attacks on religion and moral

values by the atheistic or agnostic media, threats of social isolation, and direct or

indirect persecution because of our religious beliefs. Let us conclude this Church year

by praying for the grace to endure patiently any trials, for they are essential to our

affirmation of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

November 9, 2025

O. T. 32: Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Johns Lateran in Rome:(Nov 9,

2025) Ez:47;1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 Cor 3:9c-11,16-17; Jn 2:13-22

Today the Church celebrates the anniversary of the dedication of the

Cathedral Church of Rome by Pope Sylvester I in AD 324. This Church

serves as the Episcopal seat of the Pope as the Bishop of Rome and,

hence, is called “the mother and Head of all Churches of Rome and the

world.” 

 Catholic commentary on John 2:13-22 emphasizes the “cleansing of the

temple” as a symbolic act of zeal for God’s house and a prophetic

statement about the coming of the new temple, which is Jesus’ own body.

The passage is understood as a confrontation of commercialism corrupting

worship, where Jesus defends the poor and the sacredness of God’s

presence. It is a call for believers to be a living temple of God, cleansed of

sin and commercialism, through the constant spiritual renewal of their

hearts and souls.

Life messages: 1) We need to remember that we are the temples of the

Holy Spirit. Hence, we have no right to desecrate God’s temple by

impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, or jealousy.

2) We need to love our parish Church and use it. Our parish Church is

the place where we come together as a community to praise and worship

God, to thank Him for His blessings, to ask pardon and forgiveness for our

sins, and to offer our lives and petitions on the altar. Let us make our

Church an even more holy place by adding our prayers and songs to

community worship and by offering our time and talents and treasure in the

various ministries of our parish.

3) We need to offer living worship to a living God. If our God is the God

of the living, our worship of this living God also has to be alive. That means

our participation in prayers and songs during the Holy Mass should be

active and our behavior in Church reverent, as we offer our lives and all our

activities to our living God on the altar with repentant and grateful hearts.

November 2, 2025

ALL SOULS’ DAY: Wis 3:1-9; Rom 5: 5-11; Jn 6: 37-40

All Souls’ Day is a day specially set apart that we may remember and pray

for our dear ones who have gone for their eternal reward, and who are

currently in a state of ongoing purification.

“I will be seeing you soon!” One day a priest was preparing a group of

children for their First Communion. He wanted to know how much the kids

understood the Church’s teaching on Final Judgment. He asked one of the

little boys, “What will God say on Judgment Day to those who have led a

very good life on earth?” Without any hesitation the boy replied, “Come and

enter Heaven and live with me.” The priest asked a second boy, “What will

the Lord say to those who have lived a very bad life?” The boy said, “You

cannot come to Heaven. You will have to go to Hell.” Then the priest went

on: “Now what will God say to those who are not good enough to enter

heaven at once nor bad enough to go to Hell?” After a pause a little girl put

up her hand and said, “God will say, ‘I will be seeing you soon!’”

How do we help the “holy souls”? The Catechism of the Catholic

Church (CCC # 1032) recommends prayer for the dead in conjunction with

the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The Catechism also

encourages “almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance

undertaken on behalf of the dead.” All these prayerful acts are to be

conducted as matters of Faith, and not as something magical. The

greatest act is to offer Mass for the dead, because in this One Sacrifice,

the merits of our Lord Jesus are applied to the dead. Hence, this

reconciling offering of the Lord is the greatest and most perfect prayer,

which we can offer for the dead in their state of purification. Let us not

forget to pray for our dear departed, have Masses offered for them, visit

their graves, and make daily sacrifices for them.

October 26, 2025

OT XXX [C] : Sir 35:12-14, 16-18; 2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18; Lk 18:9-14

 A news reporter once asked St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) if she

had ever been tempted to be proud. Mother Theresa retorted with a

smile, “Proud about what?” The reporter replied, “Why, about the

wonderful things you have been doing for the poorest of the poor!” Then

came her answer, “I never knew I had done anything, because it was God

who worked in and through my Sisters and volunteers.” — True

humility differentiates a saint from a sinner. If we are proud of our talents,

our family connections, our reputation, or our achievements in life, today’s

Gospel tells us that we need Jesus to rid us of our pride and make us truly

humble.

Life messages: 1) Let us evict the Pharisee and revive the publican in

each of us. We become the proud Pharisee when we brag about our

achievements, giving no credit to God or those who help us, when we seek

praise and recognition from others for our accomplishments, and when we

degrade others with insensitive comments, hurting their feelings. In today’s

Gospel, Jesus challenges us to imitate the humble publican (tax collector),

by acknowledging our total dependence on God and His grace for all our

achievements and blessings; by confessing to God daily our sinfulness; by

asking for His strengthening through the daily anointing of His Holy Spirit

living within us; and by becoming more sensitive to the needs and feelings

of others, serving Jesus in them as best as we can.

2) Let us include all the necessary ingredients in our prayers. Our

personal prayers must include our request for pardon and forgiveness for

our sins, our thanksgiving for the numerous blessings we receive daily

from God, our praise and worship, the unconditional surrender of our life

and all our activities completely and unconditionally to God, the

acknowledgement of our weakness and total dependence on Him, and

finally, the presentation of our needs and petitions, asking that they be

granted only to the extent that they are in accord with His Holy Will,

accompanied by the fervent request for God’s strengthening in our

weakness and temptations through the daily anointing of His Holy Spirit.

Let us pray every day: “Be merciful to me, a sinner.”